on Collaboration

Shahnaz Hussain Pioneer and Leader of herbal care in India She is also a pioneer of Vocational Training in Cosmetology in India.

First of all, congratulations on
clinching the honor of one of the
World's Greatest Woman
Entrepreneur by Success Magazine.
And that too the first Indian woman
to do so in the magazine's 107-year
history. Along with it, Padma Shree
and many more have decked up
your award kitty. All these awards
are, we are sure, a testimony to your
tenacity and ambition. Can you take
us through the journey of Shahnaz
Husain Group's humble beginnings
right into where it stands today?
I never planned it this way. My life
was on a very different course. I
belong to a traditional and
conservative family. I was engaged
at

14
and married at 15. By the time I
was 16, I had become a mother. Life
seemed perfect, but I was bored with
the drudgery of endless routine.
Then the mental upheaval began. I
was in search of something. I was
interested in beauty and in making
others beautiful. So, I decided to
choose beauty as a career and I was
determined to get the best training
possible in Beauty Therapy. My
husband was posted as head of
foreign trade with STC in Tehran. I
decided to work my way to the
prized institutions of the West to
learn cosmetic chemistry and
cosmetology. I was not a graduate,
having got married straight after
school. But, I loved to write, so I
started writing articles for The Iran
Tribune on various subjects. I was
asked to contribute 1000 words per
week, but the response was so good,
that they asked me to handle all the
features in English and soon I was
running the entire English
magazine cover to cover.

I studied cosmetic chemistry and
cosmetology for ten years at leading
beauty schools of the West, like
Helena Rubinstein, Lancome,
Christine Valmy, Swarzkopf and
Lean of Copenhagen. During my
training in London, there were some
instances that caused me to wonder
if I had chosen the right career.
There was a newspaper report about
a London model, who became blind
after using a certain mascara. She
later committed suicide, unable to
face the consequences. There was a
similar incident of an adverse
reaction after the use of a sunprotection
lotion, which caused
severe burns on the skin. I learnt
about the chemical ingredients that
carry the risk of such dangers. In a
way, these tragic incidents changed
the course of my life and career. I
thought if people are committing
suicide due to the use of chemicals
and their dangerous side effects, I
will evolve a treatment which is safe
and without risks. I was determined
to find a natural alternative and
decided to go back to my roots, to
Ayurveda, the ancient Indian system
of herbal healing. The study of
Ayurveda convinced me that it
could provide the ideal alternative
to the demands of beauty care. I
started my first herbal clinic in my
own home in 1971, based on the
Ayurvedic system and adopted the
principle of "Care and Cure." To
implement the idea of total beauty,
with an emphasis on the good health
of the skin and hair, I established
customized beauty care, with a
personalized style, based on
individual needs and problems. It
was a totally unique, path breaking
concept. I devised my own
treatment and began to formulate
my own products, based on
Ayurveda. Today, they have become
breakthroughs in Ayurvedic beauty
cures and care.

Our franchise systemis at the core of
the success of the Shahnaz Husain
brand. All our ventures, like the
Shahnaz Herbal salons, Forever
Beautiful Shops, Beauty Training
Institutes and Spas are based on the
franchise system. The idea occurred
to me when a friend came to me
fromCalcutta, with a list of products
for her friends. I told her thatmost of
my products were prescriptives and
specialized training was needed to
advise others on their use. She then
requested me to train her and once
she was trained, she wanted to start
her own salon and use my
treatments and products. So, we
worked out an agreement by which I
gave her the right to use the Shahnaz
Herbal name. This was the
beginning of my franchise system
and training school. After that I
began to encourage ordinary
housewives to open salons in their
own homes, so that they could
achieve financial independence and
yet, be close at hand to attend to
their home and family. I trained
them and offered the Shahnaz
Herbal franchise. Within the first
year I had 80 franchise salons in
India.